DDSymms: An erotic romance writer with a noisy, crowded household – who is passionate, has acted and written scenes in workshops around LA, and who studied short story writing in university. I’ve had a fascination and enjoyment of the erotic genre for many years and in recent years became intrigued with romance, too.

LF: You are a romance author, but do you consider yourself a romantic?

DD: Yeah, I’m a romantic—I like restaurants with nice ambiance, candles, quiet moments to reflect, talk, kiss and…you get the picture. It’s the details that turn me on and create passion – and I want to keep striving to bring those out in my stories. Maybe it shows in my music tastes as well—Diana Krall is a favorite musician and The Look of Love is one of my favorite songs. The emotion resonates with me.

LF: RIDING SHOTGUN features a seriously interesting array of characters. Tell us about them.

DD: Brianna Heathstone is a Hollywood producer, divorced, and is driven yet tired from her work and personal life. She’s on a pursuit of pleasure when her car breaks down. She’s highly frustrated when the story opens. There’s a comedic element in her frustration and I use her to explore the fine line between comedy and drama.

Andrew McCarty is an attorney-turned-garage owner from Southern California, lured to the High Desert by a small town atmosphere. He’s easy going and enjoys helping others.

Mike is Andrew’s trusty mechanic. He’s a bit clumsy, funny, and truly cares about the customer.

Pete argent is an obnoxious salesman who gets in everyone’s business, has his own wife-of-the-week club and hits on Brianna while she’s waiting at Andrew’s garage.

The characters provide laughs and heat.

LF: Some of your work features BDSM, but there is so much more to the lifestyle than whips and chains and leather restraints. How do you set your work apart from the typical fetish club scene that seems to dominate (if you’ll pardon the pun) BDSM stories?

DD: In my stories, the exploration of BDSM is like personal development. One character wants to know more and then experience the sensations. In Riding Shotgun and in Layover, the heroine draws out the Dom’s knowledge of BDSM and his passion. It becomes an erotic investigation and fuels the passion the heroine and hero have for each other. Andrew, in Riding Shotgun, tries to hide his BDSM desires from Brianna because he doesn’t want to be rejected. So there’s vulnerability and a high degree of sensuality for both people.

LF: You seem to feature Los Angles quite a bit in your writing. What makes LA so special?

DD: The LA ideal of glitz and glamour is always just out-of-reach for most people. It’s the actor that gets the third call back but doesn’t get the part; the person who’s in a hurry and sits stuck in traffic in what was once an efficient freeway system. It’s fascinating. It’s like hundreds of small towns jammed together, featuring hundreds of different language groups. Yet, LA is not featured in stories and movies the way New York is. There’s a high level of frustration in the city—in addition to cultural pursuits and those who have their dreams fulfilled.

LF: Any new projects in the works?

DD: I’m finishing up my novel Masterful Delights and prepping it for an editor who has requested the full manuscript. It takes place in downtown LA. A PR consultant falls in love with a developer who finds himself struggling with a former business partner and council member’s chief of staff to make his innovative development work.

And I have a novella I’m working on about a woman who returns to her parents’ home in Ohio to turn it into a bed and breakfast.

Hollywood producer Brianna Heathstone flees a humiliating divorce driving Highway 395 from LA to Tahoe for a well-deserved vacation. But when her BMW breaks down in the High Desert, she discovers a sexy mechanic who gives her an erotic ride bursting with passion. She discovers love and eroticism can co-exist.

wow–GREAT interview! I love tying the real life elements of comedy and drama together in my own work and am trying my hand at a bit of D/s in a new WiP. You are very eloquent, prolific and successful DD—keep up the great work.
Liz

Thanks, Liia and Liz. It really was a blast to write the story. imagine having your high performance car stuck on the highway just when you think you’re on way to an erotic adventure and then it looks like you’re all alone. I appreciate the comment and thanks to Lisa for her interview.

Sounds like your stories have a lot of character depth to them. I like how you’ve taken BDSM and made it part of character development. That takes skill. Congrats, and good luck. I have no doubt people will love your stories.

Allison, thanks for being willing to check out Riding Shotgun. It has one “like” so far on Amazon and a four star rating on All Romance eBooks. Hi Mary. I think BDSM has inherent tension and passion in it.

Another thought on the story. There’s a scene in Riding Shotgun where Brianna is in the bathroom, looks in the mirror, and sees a woman who’s always running from one task to another and never gets a chance to settle. It was great to develop the recognition inside her.

Hi DD, nice to learn more about you. BDSM is a very sexy subject for erotica, and there are so many ways to spin it.
Thanks for your generous offer to readers, and thanks Lisa for being the gracious host, as always!